Hyundai’s latest recall revolved around a potential transmission oil pump malfunction on its DCTs.
Hyundai Motor America and sister company Kia started a new recall campaign this week for several models equipped with dual-clutch transmissions. Specifically, affected vehicles may experience an issue with their “fail-safe limited-mobility drive mode” (or limp mode, in lay terms) caused by a high-pressure transmission oil pump malfunction. This recall also puts a stop-sale on the models within the recall population until they can be repaired, including:
- 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz built between June 22, 2021 and March 25, 2022 (9,142 affected)
- 2021 – 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe built between November 20, 2020 and March 31, 2022 (32,833 affected)
- 2021 – 2022 Hyundai Sonata built between November 24, 2020 and March 31, 2022 (6,840 affected)
- 2021 – 2022 Hyundai Elantra N built between August 28, 2020 and May 13, 2022 (2,130 affected)
- 2021 – 2022 Hyundai Veloster N built between August 28, 2020 and May 13, 2022 (2,130 affected)
- 2022 Hyundai Kona N built between October 5, 2021 and May 4, 2022 (1,032 affected)
- 2021 – 2023 Kia K5 built between November 16, 2020 and August 12, 2022 (3,426 affected)
- 2021 – 2022 Kia Sorento built between October 26, 2020 and August 25, 2022 (65,612 affected)
What else do we know so far?
According to Kia’s defect report, the electric oil pump within the transmission may “experience an internal fault due to a quality deviation issue at the supplier.” This will throw a diagnostic trouble code and flash a warning light on the dashboard. It will also trigger the vehicle’s failsafe limp mode. However, within 20-30 seconds of flashing that code, the transmission control unit (TCU) will tell the clutches to disengage, rendering the vehicles completely immobile.
So far, neither Hyundai nor Kia have reported any crashes related to the problem. In total, the recall affects 53,142 Hyundai cars and trucks, and 69,038 Kia cars and SUVs in the United States.
Hyundai, for its part, will notify owners by first-class mail, instructing them to take their vehicles to their dealer for inspection. The dealers will then replace the transmission if it is indeed damaged. Technicians will also reprogram the TCU to offer longer mobility if the failsafe mode is triggered, to allow drivers to safely stop the vehicle.
Hyundai’s number for this campaign is 236, while the NHTSA’s number for that recall is 22V-746. Kia’s recall number is SC250, while the corresponding NHTSA number is 22V-760. You can contact your local dealer for more information or check whether your vehicle’s affected through the NHTSA’s recall website.
